6th ANNUAL CEO SLEEPOUT HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENDING HOMELESSNESS WELCOMES OVER 800 DELEGATES

Winnipeg, Manitoba – Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and End Homelessness Winnipeg have partnered to bring the 6th Annual CEO Sleepout to the RBC Convention Centre this fall. The annual event typically held in April has a new date this year and will be held on October 26, 2017, as Winnipeg is set to host the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. The 3-day conference held from October 25 – 27 is expected to bring over 800 delegates from across the country and provide participants with inspiration, training and tools to end homelessness in their own community.

“We are excited to have partnered with End Homelessness Winnipeg this year and hope that this new partnership will continue to generate awareness and dollars to support the many social agencies that serve our homeless community,” says Stefano Grande, CEO of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. “This year is also an important time to reflect on the last five years and what we can do together moving forward, to end homelessness in our city.”

“Bringing together all sectors of our community is crucial to ending homelessness in our city,” says Louis Sorin, CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg. “We must work together to help our most vulnerable citizens because homelessness affects all of us. Through these partnerships we hope to generate more awareness and support more discussions on these important issues, in order to make a change.”

The new partnership between Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and End Homelessness Winnipeg hopes to make an even greater impact at the CEO Sleepout this year, with a new goal of reaching one million dollars in total. These dollars will go directly to support several social agencies in the Winnipeg community.

Additionally, everyone is invited to the Push for Change Breakfast, a simple breakfast and networking opportunity that will serve both as the official launch of the CEO Sleepout, as well as provide a platform for keynote speaker, Joe Roberts. Joe, a CEO and former homeless addict who transformed his life, is pushing a shopping cart across Canada to generate awareness on homelessness.

Push for Change Breakfast Details:

When: April 20th between 7:00 – 9:00 am

Where: Manitoba Hydro Place (360 Portage Avenue)

Why: CEO Sleepout Launch and Push for Change featuring Joe Roberts

For more information and tickets for the April 20th breakfast, as well as additional information on the CEO Sleepout, please visit theceosleepout.ca.

About the CEO SleepoutThe CEO Sleepout, organized by the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, recruits and mobilizes over 150 leaders from the private and public sectors to help bring attention and awareness to the intricate and complex issues of homelessness in our city and downtown community.

Since 2011, over $800,000 has been raised to support social agencies in their efforts to employ their participants and in providing them with quality-of-life supports and access to housing. These efforts have resulted in the employment of 137 people experiencing homelessness for more than 51,000 hours – with many of these individuals returning to school or finding permanent full-time work. The CEO Sleepout has also ignited a desire from the private/public sector to work together towards the creation of a long-term strategy to end homelessness in Winnipeg.

About End Homelessness WinnipegCreated by a task force in 2012, End Homelessness Winnipeg has a mission of bringing together all sectors of our community to work with people who are experiencing homelessness. Through this partnership they believe that we can prevent homelessness, support recovery and wellbeing, find suitable housing, and measure our success in ways that impact and transform our community and sustain change through collective action and hope.